Fifty-five suspects were arrested during a massive drug trafficking bust in Georgia involving fentanyl and linked to communist China.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced Wednesday that special agents with its Atlanta branch joined forces with law enforcement agencies across Georgia and other states to indict 55 of 56 suspects.
The drug trafficking operation was based in Glynn County and St. Simons Island, the FBI announcement read:
The FBI Atlanta investigation, led by the agents in the Brunswick Resident Agency, found that members of the group were traveling to Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Jacksonville to source the drugs. One indicted suspect communicated with a supplier in China and had multiple kilos of drugs shipped to Brunswick from overseas.
The drug trafficking organization was responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, MDMA, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana throughout the area.
The suspects were charged with “variations of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance,” and some of those individuals are facing firearms charges. Officials said they expect the 56th suspect to turn herself in.
Video footage shows some of the arrests:
FBI branches also helped arrest suspects in Texas, South Carolina, and New York.
FBI Atlanta called it a “major drug trafficking takedown in coastal Georgia,” adding, “Strong partnerships. Safer communities.”
In a social media post on Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation was “one of our most significant takedowns yet.”
“Well done to our teams and partners on the successful op — we are continuing our 24/7 full throttle work to break the drug trafficking orgs in America,” he wrote:
China’s connection to the drug bust is significant because, according to Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer, author of the book Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, the communist country weaponizes fentanyl against Americans.
In an excerpt from his book, Schweizer, who is the president of the Government Accountability Institute, wrote that “While we debate domestic politics to address the fentanyl crisis, the reality is that Beijing is deeply involved at every stage of the drug’s production and distribution in the United States.”
He added that “Based on leaked U.S. national security documents, Mexican government hacked emails or correspondence, and Chinese corporate records, we know that the fentanyl operation is under Chinese control from start to finish.”
